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The other region with very high levels of this male chromosome is the Basque region. The same genes have been passed down from parents to children for thousands of years. While other parts of Europe have integrated continuous waves of new settlers from the east, Ireland's remote geographical position has meant that the Irish gene pool has been less susceptible to change. However, the Irish also share their DNA to a large extent with the people of Britain, especially the Scottish and Welsh.ĭNA testing of the male Y chromosome has shown that Irish males have the highest incidence of the R1b haplogroup in Europe. Today, people living in the north of Spain in the region known as the Basque Country share many DNA traits with the Irish. Who Are the Closest Genetic Relatives of the Irish? When the land was covered in thick forest, coastal settlements were common and people travelled around the seaboard of Europe quite freely. Although it might seem surprising, it is worth remembering that the sea was one of the fastest and easiest ways to travel in ancient times. There are also interesting cultural similarities along the western seaboard of Europe, stretching from Spain up to Ireland-as has been written about by the archeologist Barry Cunliffe. While the picture for matrilineal descent (mother to daughter) is more complex, it seems that the northern Spanish and the Irish might have common male ancestors at some point in history.

Modern DNA research into male Y chromosomes has found that the R1b haplogroup reaches very high concentrations in Western Ireland and the Basque country in northern Spain. Most interestingly, the book says that the group which then came to Ireland and fully established itself as rulers of the island were the Milesians-the sons of Mil, a soldier from Spain.